Twenty-seventh of Nirakos
Year 1182 of Emancipation
Davos woke an hour before sunrise that morning, though by now he had completely lost track of days. Time dragged on when the only indicator was a single window. He hadn’t tried to escape – not because of fear but because he could hear the vatriloi just outside his room and throughout the temple. The window above was too small for him to fit through, so his only option was to fight through a host of vampires unarmed. He didn’t have the physical strength for that battle. His odds were non-existent, and he had no reason to believe that Belkai wouldn’t come. She had to. She was his sun, his life. He would give the world for one more moment with her. He knew that he had to face the possibility that she wouldn’t make it in time. He thought back over the past few months and was content. There was nothing left unsaid, nothing that he hadn’t given. But still, he would do anything for one more smile, one more touch. To tell her that he loved her one more time. Just one more moment in your arms.
Adrianna stepped inside, and Davos snapped back to the present. She stood against the far wall and bit into a solid piece of meat. Unlike Kane, she didn’t offer any. She enjoyed the torture, Davos knew, both physical and mental. As if to emphasise this, she threw the remains of the meat back around the corner, and he could hear the snarling as the vampires tore it apart. What made you so cold, Davos wondered. What have they done to you?
“The wait is getting tiresome,” she said, and gave him a smirk. “Maybe she isn’t coming. Or maybe she’s dead. The desert claims every soul.”
“There is nothing in this desert that could stop her,” Davos warned. “I have seen her kill Watchers, Blackwings, the Recluse, Ashelath himself. For all your fancy tricks, you are nothing to her.”
Adrianna threw herself at him and snapped her teeth at him. Wolf’s fangs hung before his eyes in the still-human mouth and he jerked backwards before he could stop himself. Adrianna stepped back, her teeth returning to normal, and smiled.
“I will tear the flesh from Belkai’s bones before your very eyes,” Adrianna growled. “And then I will put you out of your misery. But only after she sees your horror as I strip her apart piece by piece.”
It was the glimmer of doubt that Adrianna loved. It was the moment when they questioned everything that they were trusting in. It wasn’t that Davos didn’t love Belkai; Adrianna didn’t doubt that love at all. But there was always that moment when, faced with the depths of Falkar’s works, the prey had to doubt. Fear was the great motivator, and Adrianna was the master, more so even than Kane. She licked her lips in anticipation. This would be a good hunt.
***
Belkai chose to start her hunt during the day. The fierce sun was her one advantage over the vampires, and she intended to use it to the utmost. She had slept in the remains of an ancient watchtower, rising with the sun to begin the two-hour journey to the ruined town ahead of her. She could feel the presence of many beings in the ruins, but it was hazy, as if something was blocking her perception. She wasn’t surprised; it wasn’t unexpected that the Arcane would have some ways to push against the Brilhardem. So be it. If they really wanted this hunt, then they would regret it. It didn’t matter if the fight was on their terms or Belkai’s; she would triumph.
The entrance to the town was marked with the crumbled remains of a gate and two watchtowers. Scorch marks still showed on the stones, testimony to the violence that had struck the settlement an age ago. Off to the east were the scattered remains of what must have been a majestic building. The golden pillars that remained suggested that it had once been a palace. Something in the sand closer to Belkai caught her eye. She stepped over and pushed the steel sheet away to reveal a mound of sun-bleached bones. She forced back a wave of nausea as she studied them. They were ancient, but must have only recently been unearthed. As if something has disturbed their burial site. She sensed movement just before the ground erupted around her and four figures crawled out of the sand. Bloated, pale skin told her that she faced the creatures that had shattered two armies at Arborshire.
Kane and Adrianna may have been proud and eager, but they were no fools. Belkai would have to kill to earn the chance to face them. She didn’t disappoint.
In a series of fluid motions, Belkai took hold of her longsword and brought it to bear even as she cast aside her pack and cloak.
“I killed your master!” She yelled at the beasts as they circled her. “I will spit on your corpses!”
The wise lord of Narandir was nowhere to be seen. The fury of the mage stood tall in the face of those who had dared to violate the sanctum of her love. Not that the beasts took note of that.
All four of the creatures leapt at her simultaneously. Belkai dropped low, slashing upwards as she dodged the first set of blows. The dwarven blade carved through one of the beast’s flesh as if it were paper, eviscerating it with a single blow. As the body fell, Belkai turned to meet the next attacker. The blade sliced off its clawed hand, and as it reeled backwards, Belkai plunged the sword through its head and ripped it out the side, cleaving the skull in two. The third knocked her to the ground before she could respond, and she raised a hand that shone with a green light. Bones audibly snapped and exploded out of the beast’s skin, a bloodless spray that smashed into the ground with surprising force. The fourth creature didn’t pause at the death of its comrades, too bloodthirsty for rational thought. By now Belkai had risen to her knees and impaled it on the sword. With a strained grunt, she heaved the sword, slicing the creature open from its sternum to the top of its skull. She took a deep breath and stood, sword hanging by her side as she shut her eyes and focused. Nothing stirred, but some of the haze was gone. She could feel Davos now, there was no mistaking him. He was somewhere in the centre of the town. She made her way towards a ruined residential area, sword by her side, her spare hand crackling with green light as she advanced ready to kill anything that stood in her way.
***
“Gods, that was beautiful,” Adrianna whispered. She felt nothing towards the creatures that Belkai had slaughtered, but she had nothing but admiration for the way that the mage had taken them down while barely breaking a sweat. Figuratively speaking, she thought with a smirk. Those creatures had devastated two armies, but Belkai had killed them like they were fleas. Maybe there was something to this Brilhardem clan after all.
“This may be a tougher fight than we’d thought,” Kane replied, and Adrianna could feel the adrenaline racing through him.
“One can hope.”
***
Belkai could feel the eyes on her but knew that they were distant. That wouldn’t mean much if it were the Sons of Retribution; werewolves would have incredible vision, better even than the average elf. In the distance, she could see the remains of some sort of amphitheatre. That’s where she would be if she were them; distant enough to stalk their prey, but close enough to respond quickly should they need to. She turned her attention back to the town as she moved through the streets, such as they were. Some of the buildings were still intact, others were shattered piles of bricks. The destruction had been random, chaotic. It was the devastation of anger and hatred, not a deliberate siege. Belkai forced her mind off the past. She had more immediate concerns. Davos was somewhere ahead of her, but she could sense something else prowling the streets ahead of her. It seemed strange, almost as if it weren’t fully alive. Vampire, she thought. But why a lone wanderer? The others of its kind were all in the same area as Davos. She tightened her grip on the sword. She had no choice but to trigger the trap. There came a time where brute force was your only option. She kept walking, tracking the vampire as it moved to intercept. Draw it in, she told herself, and didn’t turn when she sensed it coming down a parallel street. It was moving faster now, but she kept her eyes forward and her pace steady. Here we go.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
With a snarl, the vampire dropped off a nearby roof and used its wings to guide its fall towards her. At the last second, Belkai spun out of the way and thrust her sword forward, slamming the blade through the vampire’s forehead and pinning it to the wall. It snarled and lashed out at her, seemingly unaffected, and she pulled out the sword and rammed it through the creature’s heart before it could react. It made no difference as it snarled and fought to free itself. Forged from the heart of the earth, she reminded herself, and retrieved the obsidian dagger forged from rapid-cooled lava and gifted to her by Arak. She rammed it into the vampire’s heart and it screeched as a black rot ran across its skin. It reached for her one last time, then went limp. She could no longer sense it; the beast was dead. Duly noted.
As she retrieved the longsword, she saw a large ruin at the centre of the city. On either side were two ruined watchtowers. The ruin was three levels high, with a golden door decorated with silver vines. Laying on the ground before it was a once-golden statue of a robed woman. Shattered wings were scattered about her. She could sense Davos somewhere in the temple, along with the dozen or so vampires that must have been holding him captive. She studied the damaged roof, wanting to avoid using the front entrance. Near the rear of the temple, there seemed to be a hole big enough for her to fit through. She advanced towards the temple, one hand holding the longsword by her side, the other grasping the dagger.
***
“She learns fast,” Kane said as they watched Belkai begin to scale the temple walls.
“That beast should never have been outside the temple,” Adrianna responded. “But I suppose she worked it out easily enough.”
“They didn’t even slow her down.” Kane stretched his shoulders and grunted. “This will be fun.”
“If the vatriloi don’t get her.”
Kane smiled. “They won’t.”
***
Belkai reached the top of the temple and quietly made her way forward to the shattered tiles that marked her entry point. She laid down and peered through the hole as she reached out with her senses. She was above a kitchen of sorts, and she could sense one of the vatriloi making its way towards the room. Smell me, do you? She smiled grimly. Well, it’s your funeral. She squatted, a blade in each hand as she waited for the vampire to come into view. She didn’t have to wait long. Wings fluttering impatiently, the vampire twisted its head around as it sniffed, searching for the unexpected scent. Belkai didn’t hesitate. She dropped through the hole and the vampire snapped its head up in time to catch the longsword through its throat, pinning it to a counter a moment before the obsidian blade pierced its heart. Belkai paused only long enough to make sure it was dead before she strapped the longsword to her back and switched the dagger over to her right hand. Her left shone with green light as she stalked forward. She could sense the other vampires, as well as Davos, but she was wary. She didn’t know what else might be waiting for her, what the Arcane may have devised to overcome her abilities. As she moved down the halls she studied the murals on the walls. The Svaletans had been sun worshippers even then, she realised. It gave life and sustenance, and in return they gave their devotion. It was sad in her mind. She didn’t know what the sun ultimately was – some claimed it was superheated gas, others that it was an Arcane in its own right – but she did know that it was created, and not by the Arcane. Elkur, the Creator that the Brilhardem served, claimed to have formed it before anything else. Belkai saw no reason to disagree. Clearly, the Svaletans had their own theories. What does Davos really believe? He’d always seemed a little confused. Perhaps that was a conversation that they’d have when this was over.
Belkai stopped. Clear your mind. Something had distracted her. She couldn’t identify the source, but something was getting into her head. She reached out with her senses and found that a group of the vampires had moved closer, covered by whatever was clouding her mind. She raised her dagger and moved into the next room, ready to strike.
***
“Did Falkar come through?” Kane asked. They couldn’t see Belkai now that she was in the temple, but their patron had promised to slow her down to give the vampires a fighting chance.
“I’m sure he would have,” Adrianna replied as she stood. “But it won’t be enough.”
“It’s a sporting chance,” Kane reminded her, and glanced over the amphitheatre behind them. “More than the fighters here would have had.”
Adrianna didn’t respond at first as she watched the temple. “We should get into position. She won’t take long.”
***
Belkai was moving down a dust-covered hallway when the next group of vampires struck. There were four of them, and they burst through the weakened wall beside her. She reacted instantly, spinning out of their way and taking a step back. She kicked the legs out from under one, and as it fell she reached out and crushed its neck. Its eyes tracked her even as it hit the ground paralysed. The next reached her for only to catch the dagger through its nose, and it collapsed against the wall as its skin rotted way.
The next two came at her at once. She lashed out with her foot, caving in the knee of the first, but the second tackled her through the wall, both of them landing in the next room in a shower of stone and dust. She screamed as she felt the sword hilt jam into her back. She could feel the cuts on her legs where fragments from the wall had cut her pants open. Her dagger was pinned, but with her free hand she took a hold of the vampire’s head and focused her energies. Its eyes went wide a moment before the back of its skull exploded, spraying the ceiling with skull fragments and brain matter. She rolled the body off her as the other vampire came through the shattered wall dragging its injured leg. Belkai could feel its hatred as it advanced and took a step forward. Before she could strike, it leapt into the air, its wings propelling it forward to snatch Belkai and throw her through another wall. As she fell, she threw the dagger, catching the vampire in the chest. She hit the ground, rolled, and the rotted corpse landed beside her with a wet smack. She retrieved her dagger and made her way back to the hallway.
One creature still looked at her, its fury waging war with its paralysis as it strained to move. Belkai knelt above it, her body aching from the abuse. She spat out a glob of blood and it landed in the vampire’s mouth. Its eyes went wide as it drank the warm liquid, and Belkai heard the popping of bones as it healed.
“I’ll see you in hell,” she whispered, and plunged the dagger through its heart.
***
Davos recognised Belkai’s scent the second she dropped into the temple. His heart leapt, and he glanced up at the rope that tied his hands. He’d already assessed it and worked out that he wasn’t likely to be able to free himself, but with hope in view he wasn’t going to just sit around and wait. As he pulled and twisted his hands to try to loosen the bonds, he listened to the fighting as it drew nearer. Screeches filled the air, and he heard the crashing of falling stone. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought that a troll was rampaging through the temple. He stopped fighting the bonds as he felt his remaining strength slipping away. Other than the one piece of meat that Kane had given him, he hadn’t eaten for days, and had only drunk a few mouthfuls of water each day.
There was a thump from the next room, and desperate snarling. He could hear Belkai grunting as she fought, and a body toppled through the doorway into Davos’ room. The pale skin rotted before Davos’ eyes, a dagger sticking out of an eye socket. He looked up as a figure stepped into the room, pulled out the dagger, and turned to face him. Her hair was a wild mess, and her nose had clearly been broken and pulled back into place. Her clothes were ripped, and he could see bruising across her stomach where her top had been shredded. Her pants’ legs had been ripped away, and the remains covered only to just above her knees. She was covered in scratches and drying blood, and her piercing green eyes were tired as they landed on Davos. Belkai smiled even as a trickle of blood ran down her chin.
To Davos, she had never looked so beautiful.